”It appears that the Conde Nast-Carine Roitfeld fall-out was a long time coming. Our sources tell us the magazine’s parent company was unhappy with all the bad press surrounding Roitfeld’s alleged pay-for-play scandals—this year, alone—demanding huge sums of money for extracurricular consulting gigs and the enormous, public embarrassment of being banned from Balenciaga last season for abusing her position at Vogue. In the latter case, Roitfeld allegedly borrowed Balenciaga preview pieces and sent them to her client, Max Mara, to copy—’It wasn’t the first time,’ one source tells us. ‘One [Balenciaga] precollection ended up, in its entirety, at Max Mara.’ /…/ There are, allegedly, plenty of questions about Roitfeld’s impartiality as an editor. After she awarded this year’s ANDAM award—a €220,000 prize for emerging talent in France—to Turkish designer Hakaan, there was an outcry in the Paris fashion community, with implications that behind-the-scenes deals were made.” [RACKED] [WWD]

“One of the things that’s been so nice is that Dior made all of the shoes for me with no animals and no leather or anything, because I don’t wear any leather. They remade all my shoes so I can wear Dior shoes without taking lives.” [WWD]

”It’s bittersweet to declare Alexander McQueen’s fall 2010 collection one of the best fashion moments this year. But his final work, shown to small groups of editors at the elegant headquarters of Artemis, the brand’s holding company, was breathtaking. It was a tour de force of skill and imagination. Finding inspiration in the visual arts as well as in religiosity, the collection was touched with grace, melancholy and beauty.” [WASHINGTON POST]

”Of course, you’d anticipate ads featuring Lara Stone and Chanel Iman would make most women feel less than lovely. But here’s an interesting catch: the ads in the study did not feature human beings, or the model approximation thereof. While social-comparison theory holds that people gain information about themselves by looking at other people, according to this study at least, they also gain information about themselves by comparing themselves to objects.” [NEW YORK TIMES]

”One strategy, touted on online forums, is to turn to macho surplus military gear. That advice led Foo Conner, a 25-year-old consultant from Pittsburgh, to buy a World War II-era Swiss ammunition case to carry around his iPad. “It had to be more masculine,” said Mr. Conner, who added that the bag is now nearly sold out online. Another popular choice: military map pouches. The pre-GPS-era bags are perfectly sized for a tablet device.” [NEW YORK TIMES]

”‘The production went quite smoothly for me, I was in contact with the team throughout the process and developed the branding also. In terms of changes, there’s a few small design changes like the zip down the back of the dress going down the whole way and certain fabrics – the main thing for me was that it wasn’t possible to recreate the dirty effect of the sheep’s wool but I think for the customer this way is probably better. /…/ It’s a slightly different thing compared to other recent high street collaborations, it’s more covert and about showing new ideas to a new audience. Topshops collaborations are always a big pat on the back to London designers and the fact that their customers are more aware of what’s happening in the industry and are more design conscious helps a lot in these decisions.‘” [STYLEBUBBLE]